Kate and I usually talk while I’m photographing her, often leading to series like this, where her expression covers a wide range. I’m not sure what we were talking about here, but I know we’d just finished a pint or two - the glasses in the previous frame are nearly empty - so the discussion was likely getting animated. Kate’s slightly surprised expression in the last frame probably indicates that I’ve just said something outlandish, something which she finds herself agreeing with despite herself. So, pretty much your standard Sunday afternoon at the bar.

I’ve only been professionally photographed once in my adult life. I remember making some slightly awkward small talk with the photographer as she changed out sheets of film, but I don’t think my face went through anything like this kind of range. Perhaps a pint and a discussion of the Hegelian roots of Marxism should be a part of every portrait session?

Note: the first three images in this series didn’t make the final cut, so I didn’t bother cloning out the light fixture, dust on the negs, scratches, etc.

Alternate, robot themed title: Fat Man and Little Boy, the representatives of our new robot overlords, dictate the terms of the new treaty to the delegates of the human race. Isn’t story telling fun?

By reader request, one from the archives. Apparently this was the harbinger of our doom, circa 2005.

Alternate Title: Buick Rogers in the 21st Century

Hexar RF, CV 35 F1.4 SC, TriX, Xtol 1+1

I’ve just finished scanning the first roll of shots from my new Cosina Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm F1.4 SC (worst name ever for a lens). It’s a tiny little thing, and the focus tab is going to take some getting used to, but it seems to work. What do you think?

The camera is Kate’s new Samsung NV15. She wanted something pocketable with good manual controls. Out of all the shiny digicams at the big box store, the Samsungs seem to be the only ones with an interface that makes sense. Instead of the normal profusion of dials, four-way pads, and select buttons, the NV15 uses one top dial to select the mode - manual, auto, etc - and array of touch sensitive bumps along the sides of the LCD. It’s kind of like a touch screen interface, just with the buttons off the screen, if that makes sense. In any event, it’s a fast and intuitive interface because nothing gets buried under layers of menus. The image quality isn’t half bad either.